Secret societies : a discussion of their character and claims

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SECRET SOCIETIES:

A DISCUSSION OF THEIR CHARACTER
AND CLAIMS,

REV. DAVID MACDILL,
JONATHAN BLANCH ARD, D.D.,

AND

EDWARD BEECHER, D.D.

" Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them."— EPH. v: 11.

CINCINNATI:
WESTERN TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY,

No. 28 WEST FOURTH STREET.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by the
WESTERN TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
Southern District of Ohio.

STEREOTYPED AT THE
FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY,
CINCINNATI, O. . .

CONTENTS.

1

A TREATISE BY REV. D. MACDILL.

CHAPTER I. THEIR ANTIQUITY.
CHAPTER II. THEIR SECRECY.
CHAPTER III. OATHS AND PROMISES.
CHAPTER IV. PROFANENESS.
CHAPTER V. THEIR EXCLUSIVENESS.
CHAPTER VI. FALSE CLAIMS.

II.

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SECRET SOCIETIES?
BY JONATHAN BLANCHARD, D.D.

III.

REPORT TO CONGREGATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
ILLINOIS. BY EDWARD BEECHER, D. D.

SECRET SOCIETIES.

CHAPTER I.

THEIR ANTIQUITY.

1. SECRET associations are of very ancient origin.
They existed among the ancient Egyptians, Hin
doos, Grecians, Romans, and probably among nearly
all the pagan nations of antiquity. This fact, how
ever, is neither proof of their utility nor of their
harmlessness. Slavery, despotism, cruelty, drunken
ness, falsehood, and all sorts of sins and crimes have
been practiced from time immemorial, but are none
the less to be reprobated on that account.

2. The facts that these associations had no exist
ence among the Israelites, who, alone of all the an
cient nations, enjoyed the light of Divine revelation,
and that they originated and flourished among the
heathen, who were vain in their imaginations ; whose
foolish heart was darkened, and whom God gave
up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own
hearts (Rom. i: 21-24), is a presumptive proof

, SOCIETIES.

^ [and /tendency are evil. We do
not claim that all the institutions among God's an
cient people were right and good; nor that every
institution among the heathen was sinful and in
jurious ; still, that which was so popular "among
those whom the Bible declares to have been filled
with all unrighteousness ; that which was so pleasing
to men whom Grod had given over to a reprobate
mind and to vile affections (Rom. i : 26-28) ; that
which made a part of the worship which the ig
norant heathen offered up to their unclean gods,
and which was unknown among Grod's chosen peo
ple, is certainly a thing to be viewed with sus
picion. A thing of so bad origin and so bad ac
companiments we should be very slow to approve.
The fact that many good men see no evil in secret
societies, and that many good men have been and
are members of them, is more than counterbalanced
by the fact that many good men very decidedly dis
approve of them, and that, from time immemorial,
men of vile affections and reprobate minds, men
whose inclinations and consciences were perverted
by heathenish ignorance and error, and by a cor
rupt and abominable religion, have been very fond
of them.

3. Doubtless the authors and conductors of the
ancient mysteries made high pretensions, just as do

THEIR ANTIQUITY.

the modern advocates of secret societies. Perhaps
the original design of the ancient mysteries was to
civilize mankind and promote religion ; that is, pa
gan superstition. But whatever may have been the
design of the authors of them, it is certain that
they became schools of superstition and vice.
Their pernicious character and influence were so
manifest that the ancient Christian writers almost
universally exclaimed against them. (Leland's Chr.
Rev., p. 223.) Bishop Warburton, who, in his "Di
vine Legation," maintains that the ancient mysteries
were originally pure, declares that they " became
abominably abused, and that in Cicero's time the
terms mysteries and abominations were almost sy
nonymous." The cause of their corruption, this
eminent writer declares to be the secrecy with which
they were performed. He says : " We can assign
no surer cause of the horrid abuses and corruptions
of the mysteries than the season in which they were
represented, and the profound silence in which
they were buried. Night gave opportunity to
wicked men to attempt evil actions, and the secrecy
encouragement to repeat them." (Leland's Chr.
Rev., p. 194.) It seems to have been of these an
cient secret associations that the inspired Apostle
said, "It is a shame even to speak of those things
which are done in secret," (Eph. v: 12.)

SECRET SOCIETIES.

4. In view of these facts, the antiquity of secret
societies is no argument in their favor ; yet it is
no uncommon thing to find their members tracing
their origin back to the heathenish mysteries of
the ancient Egyptians, Hindoos, or Grecians. (See
Webb's Freemason's Monitor, p. 39.) Since the
ancient mysteries were so impure and abominable,
those who boast of their affinity with them must
be classed with them of whom the Apostle says,
"Their glory is in their shame" (Phil, iii : 19.)

THEIR SECRECY.

CHAPTER II.

THEIR SECR ECY.

1. ONE of the objectionable features of all the
associations of which we are writing is their secrecy.
We do not say that secrecy is what is called an evil
or sin in itself. Secrecy may sometimes be right
and even necessary. There are family secrets
and secrets of State. Sometimes legislatures and
church courts hold secret sessions. It is admitted
that secrecy in such cases may be right; but this
does not prove that secrecy is always right. The
cases above-mentioned are exceptional in their
character. For instance, a family may very prop
erly keep some things secret; but were a family
to act on the principle of secrecy, they would
justly be condemned, and would arouse suspicions
in the minds of all who know them. Were a
family to endeavor to conceal every thing that
is said and done by the fireside ; were they to in
vent signs, and grips, and passwords for the pur
pose of concealment ; were they to admit no one
under their roof without exacting a solemn oath

10 SECRET SOCIETIES.

or promise that nothing seen or heard shall be
made known, every one would say there is some
thing wrong. So, too, if a church court would
always sit in secret ; were none but members at any
time admitted; were all the members bound by sol
emn promises or oaths to keep the proceedings se
cret, and were they to employ signs, grips, and
passwords, and to hold up horrid threats, in order
to secure concealment, such a church court would
lose the confidence of all men whose esteem is of
any value. Such studious and habitual concealment
would damage the reputation of any family or
church court in the estimation of all sensible peo
ple. The same result would follow in case a Leg
islature would endeavor, as a general thing, to con
ceal its proceedings. As to State secrets, they
generally pertain to what is called diplomacy; and
even in straightforward, manly diplomacy there is
generally no effort at concealment. In our own
country, Congress very often asks the President for
information in regard to the negotiations and cor
respondence of the Executive Department with for
eign governments, and almost always the whole
correspondence asked for is laid before Congress
and published to the country. It is very seldom
that the President answers the call with a declara- '
tion that the public welfare requires the corre-

THEIR SECRECY. 11

Bpondence to be kept secret. Besides this, the
concealment is only temporary. It is never sup
posed that the secrecy must be perpetual. It is
true that many diplomatists — perhaps nearly all the
diplomatists of Europe — do endeavor to cover up
their doings from the light of day. It is also true
that the secrecy and deceit of diplomatists have
made diplomacy a corrupt thing. Diplomacy is re
garded by many as but another name for duplicity.
Talleyrand, the prince of diplomatists, said " the
design of language is to conceal one's thoughts."
This terse sentence gives a correct idea of the
practice of secret negotiators. With regard, then,
to State secrets, we remark that real statesmen do
not endeavor to cover up their doings in the dark,
and that the practices of diplomatists, and the rep
utation they have for duplicity, are not such as
should encourage individuals or associations to en
deavor to conceal their proceedings. We see noth
ing in the fact that there may be secrets of State
to justify studied and habitual secrecy either in in
dividuals or associations.

2. The impropriety of habitual concealment may
be further illustrated. An individual who endeavors
to conceal the business in which he is engaged, or
the place and mode of carrying it on, exposes him
self to the suspicion of his fellow-men. People

12 SECRET SOCIETIES.

lose confidence in him. They feel that he is not a
Bafe man. They at once suspect that there is
something wrong. They do not ask or expect him
to make all his business affairs public. They are
willing that he should say nothing about many of
his business operations. But habitual secrecy, con
stant concealment, unwillingness to tell either friend
or foe what business he follows, or to speak of his
business operations, will cause any man to be re
garded as destitute of common honesty. This fact
shows that, in the common judgment of men, con
stant concealment is suspicious and wrong. Wher
ever it is practiced, men expect the development
of some unworthy purpose.

We regard secrecy just like homicide and other
actions that in general are very criminal. To take
human life, as a general thing, is a very great
crime ; but it is right to kill a man in self-defense,
and to take the life of a murderer as a punishment
for his crime. The habitual concealment of one's
actions is wrong, but it may be right at particular
times and for special reasons. It is not a dread
fully wicked thing, like the causeless taking of
human life, and may be justifiable much oftener
and for less weighty reasons. Still habitual secrecy,
or secrecy, except at particular times and for special
reasons, is, according to the common judgment of

THEIR SECRECY. 13

men, suspicious and unjustifiable. Now, with secret
societies secrecy is the general rule. They practice
constant concealment. At all times and on all oc
casions must the members keep their proceedings
secret. If an individual would thus studiously en
deavor to conceal his actions ; were he to throw the
veil of secrecy over, his business operations, refus
ing to speak to any of his fellow-men concerning
them, he would justly expose himself to suspicion.
His fellow-men would lose all confidence in his in
tegrity. If habitual secrecy on the part of an in
dividual, in regard to business matters, is confess
edly suspicious and wrong, it must be so, also, on
the part of" associations of men. There is less ex
cuse, indeed, for concealment on the part of a num
ber of men banded together than on the part of an
individual. An individual working in the dark may
do much mischief, but an association thus working
can do much more. All those considerations which
forbid individuals to .shroud their actions in secrecy
and darkness, and require them to be open, frank,
and straightforward in their course, apply with
equal or greater force to associations.

3. In the case of secret societies, the reasons for
concealment set the impropriety of it in a still
stronger light. So far from there being any neces
sity or special reason to justify habitual secrecy in

14 SECRET SOCIETIES.

their case, we believe the very design of their secrecy
to be improper and sinful. We present the follow
ing quotation from a book of high authority among
those for whose benefit it was specially intended :

" If the secrets of Masonry are replete with such
advantages to mankind, it may be asked, Why are
they not divulged for the general good of society ?
To which it may be answered, were the privileges
of Masonry to be indiscriminately bestowed, the
design of the institution would be subverted, and,
being familiar, like many other important matters,
would soon lose their value and sink into disre
gard." — Webb's Freemason's Monitor, p. 21.

The same author intimates that the secrecy of
Masonry is designed to take advantage of " a weak
ness of human nature." He admits that Masonry
would soon sink into disregard if its affairs were
generally known. Although this remark is made
with special reference to the giddy and unthink
ing, yet it is certainly not the contempt of such
persons which Masons fear. They would not care
for the contempt of the giddy and unthinking, if
they could retain the esteem of the thoughtful and
wise. The real reason* then, for concealing the
doings of Masons in their lodges, is to recommend
things which, if generally known, would be regarded
with contempt. The design of concealment in the

THEIR SECRECY. 15

case of other secret associations, we understand to
be the same. The following is an extract from an
address delivered at the national celebration of the
fortieth anniversary of Odd-fellowship, in New
York, April 26, 1859, and published by the Grand
Lodge of the United States :

" But even if we do resort to the aid of the mys
terious, to render our meetings attractive, or as a
stimulant to applications for membership, surely
this results in no injury to society or individ
uals." — Proceedings of Grand Lodge of United States ,
1859, Ap.,'p. 10,

Here, again, it is pretty plainly hinted that the
design of secrecy in the case of Odd-fellowship, is
to invest it with unreal attractions, or. at least, with
attractions which it would not possess, were the veil
of concealment withdrawn. Here, again, as in Ma
sonry, it is virtually admitted that secrecy is designed
to take advantage of " a weakness in human nature,"
and to recommend things which, if not invested with
the attractions which secrecy throws around them,
would sink into contempt.

Doubtless the design of concealment in the case
of other secret asssociations is the same. We are
not aware that Good-fellows, Good Templars, Sons
of Temperance, and other similar associations, have
any better reason for working, like moles, in the

16 SECRET SOCIETIES.

dark than Masons and Odd-fellows. There is,
then, as it respects secret societies, no necessity for
concealment — nothing to justify it. The real motive
for it is itself improper and sinful.

4. That the concealment of actions and princi
ples, either by individuals or associations, is incon
sistent with the teachings of the Bible, is, we think,
easily shown. Thus our Savior, on his trial, de
clared : "1 spake openly to the world; I ever taught
in the synagogue, whither the Jews always resort ;
and in secret have I said nothing." (John xviii : 20.)
An association which claims to be laboring in be
half of true principles, and for the moral and in
tellectual improvement of men, and yet conceals its
operations under the impenetrable veil of secrecy,
is certainly practicing in direct opposition to the
example and teaching of the Son of God.

Again: The concealment of our actions is con
demned in the words of the Most High, as recorded
by the prophet : " 'Woe unto them that seek deep to
hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are
in the dark; and they say, Who seeth us f and who
knoweth us? (Is. xxix : 15.) Those on whom a di
vine curse is thus pronounced are described as en
deavoring to hide their works in the dark. This
description applies, most assuredly, to those associa
tions which meet only at night, and in rooms with

THEIR SECRECY. 17

darkened windows, and which require their mem
bers solemnly to promise or swear that they will
never make known their proceedings.

Again : The inspired apostle incidentally con
demns secret societies in denouncing the sins prev
alent in his own day: "And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them; for it is a shame to speak of those
things that are done of them in secret." (Eph. v:
11, 12.) It is not without reason that commenta
tors understand the shameful things done in se
cret, of which the apostle speaks, to be the
"mysteries" of the " secret societies" which pre
vailed among the ancient heathen. They main
tained religious rites and ceremonies in honor of
their imaginary deities, just as most modern " se
cret societies " make a profane use of the word and
worship of God in their parades and initiations.
He says it would be a shame to speak of the rites
performed by the heathen in their secret associa
tions in honor of Bacchus and Yenus, the god of
wine and the goddess of lust, and of their other
abominable deities. But whether the apostle re
fers to the Eleusinian, Samothracian, and other pa
gan mysteries, or not, the principle of secrecy comes
in for a share of his condemnation.

The concealment practiced by " secret societies "
2

18 SECRET SOCIETIES.

is inconsistent, also, with such declarations of the
Bible as the following: "For every one that doeth
evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth
truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be
made manifest that they are wrought in God" (John
iii: 20, 21.) "Let your light so shine before men
that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven" These are the words
of our Savior, and they certainly condemn the con
cealment practiced by secret associations, and all
the means employed for that purpose — their signs,
grips, and passwords; their shunning the light of
day ; their secret gatherings in the night, and in
rooms with darkened windows ; the terrible oaths
and solemn promises with which they bind their
members to perpetual secrecy ; the disgraceful pun
ishments which they threaten to inflict on any
member who will expose their secret doings — all
these things are inconsistent with the spirit, if not
the very letter, of the commands of our Savior
quoted above.

5. Besides, if the doings of these associations, in
there secret meetings, are good, then it is in the
violation of the express command of our Savior to
»keep them concealed; for he tells us to let others
see our good works. In case their doings are bad,

THEIR SECRECY. 19

it is, perhaps, no violation of Christ's command to
keep them hid; but, most certainly, such things
ought not to be done at all. So far as the moral
character of secret societies is concerned, it mat
ters not whether the transactions which they so
studiously conceal are good or bad, sinless or
wicked. If such transactions are good, the Savior
commands that they be made known; if they are
improper and sinful, he commands us to have no
fellowship with them. In either case secret asso
ciations are to be condemned as practicing con
trary to the teachings of the Bible.

Hence, we conclude that the concealment so
studiously maintained and rigidly enforced by the
associations whose moral character we are consider
ing is condemned both by the common judgment
of men and by the Word of God.

20 SECRET SOCIETIES.

CHAPTEK III.

THEIR OATHS AND PROMISES.

1. ANOTHER serious objection to secret associa
tions is the profanation by them -of the oath of
God. We regard such profanation as the natural
result of their secrecy. When associations of men
endeavor to keep secret their operations from genera
tion to generation, they will not be willing to trust
to the honor and honesty of their members. A
simple promise of secrecy will not be deemed suf
ficient. Oaths or promises, with dreadful penalties,
will very likely be required of all those who are
admitted as members. Secret societies may, per
haps, exist without such oaths and promises. If
the members of an association are few in number,
or if the publication of its secrets would not be re
garded as very injurious to its interests, perhaps a
simple promise of secrecy will be regarded as suf
ficient; but whenever an association endeavors to
secure a numerous membership, and regards a dis
closure of its secrets as likely to damage its repu
tation or hinder its success, something more than a

THEIR OATHS AND PROMISES. 21

simple promise of secrecy will very likely be re
quired at the initiation of members. Accordingly,
some secret associations, it is known, do employ
awful sanctions in order to secure concealment.
Even when the members of a secret order claim
that they are not bound to secrecy by oath, but
only by a simple promise, it will, perhaps, be found
on examination that that promise is, in reality, an
'oath. An appeal to God or to heaven, whether
made expressly or impliedly, in attestation of the
truth of a promise or declaration, is an oath. Such
an appeal may not be regarded as an oath in our
civil courts, the violator of which would incur the
pains and penalties of perjury ; yet certainly it is
an oath according to the teachings of the Bible.
Our Savior teaches that to swear by the temple,
is to swear by God who dwelleth therein ; and that
to swear by heaven, is to swear by the throne of
God, and by him that sitteth thereon. (Matt, xx :
23.) We find, also, that the words, " As the Lord
liveth," is to be regarded as an oath. King David
is repeatedly said to have sworn, when he used this
form of expression, in attestation of his sincerity.
(1 Sam. xx : 3 ; 1 Kings i : 29.) An appeal to
God, whether direct or indirect, in attestation of
the truth of a declaration or promise, is an oath.
As we have already said, a secret association may

22 SECRET SOCIETIES.

exist without an oath. But we are not sure that
any does. Odd-fellows have declared that they
have no initiatory oath. In the address published
by the Grand Lodge of the United States, referred
to before, the following declaration is made: " No
oath, as was once supposed, is administered to the
candidate." (App. to Proceedings of Grand Lodge,
1859, p. 10.) Yet Grosch, in his Odd-fellows'
Manual, speaks of an " appeal to heaven " in the
initiation, at least, into one of the degrees. (P. 306.)
Perhaps the contradiction arises from a difference
of opinion in regard to what it takes to constitute
an oath, or, perhaps, from the fact that an oath is
required in initiations into some degrees, but not in
others. However this may be, we know that some
secret societies have initiatory oaths, and that nearly
all administer what, in the sight of God, is an oath,
though they may not so view it themselves. Nor
do we see any reason to discredit the declaration of
Grosch that the candidate " appeals to heaven."

2. Now, the taking of an initiatory oath is, to say
the very least of it, of doubtful propriety. Every
one who does so swears by the living God that he
will forever keep secret things about which he
knows nothing. The secrets of the association are
not imparted to him until after he has sworn that
he will not reveal them. He is kept ignorant of

THEIR OATHS AND PROMISES. 23

them until the "brethren" are assured by his ap
peal to heaven that they can trust him. Now, the
inspired apostle lays down the principle that a man
sins when he does any thing about the propriety
of which he is in doubt. He declares that the eat
ing of meats was in itself a matter of indifference,
but that if any man esteem any thing unclean, to
him it is unclean. He then makes the following
declaration : " But he that doubteth is damned if
he eat, because he eateth not of faith; for whatso
ever is not of faith is sin." (Rom. xiv : 22, 23.)
According to this most emphatic declaration, we
must have faith and confidence that what we do is
right, else we are blameworthy. We sin whenever
we do any thing which is, according to our own
judgment, of doubtful propriety. The man who is
initiated into an oath-bound society, swears that he
will keep secret things about which he knows noth
ing — things which, for aught he knows, ought not
to be kept secret. If the apostle condemned, in
most emphatic language, the man who would dx> so
trivial a thing as eat meat without assuring himself
of the lawfulness of his doing so, what would he
have said had the practice existed in his day of
swearing by the God of heaven in regard to matters
that are altogether unknown? To say the very
least, such swearing is altogether inconsistent with

24 SECRET SOCIETIES.

that caution and conscientiousness which the Scrip
tures enjoin. The apostle also condemns the con
duct of those who " understand neither what they
say nor whereof they affirm" (1 Tim. i : 7.) Does
not his condemnation fall on those who know not
about what they swear, nor whereof they appeal to
heaven ?

3. There is another objection to taking an initia
tory oath. We are expressly forbidden to take
God's name in vain. To pronounce God's name
without a good reason for doing so is to take it in
vain. Certainly, to swear by the name of the liv
ing God demands an important occasion. To make
an appeal to the God of heaven on some trifling
occasion is a profanation of his oath and name.
If the secrets of Masonry, Odd-fellowship, Good
Templars, and similar associations, are unimportant,
their oaths, appeals to heaven, and solemn prom
ises made in the presence of God are profane and
sinful. Perhaps their boasted secrets are only signs,
grips, pass-words, and absurd rites of initiation. To
swear by the name of the Lord about things of this
kind is certainly a violation of the third command
ment. The candidate does not know that the secrets
about to be disclosed to him are of any importance,
and he runs the risk of using God's name and
oath about li^ht and trivial things. He must be

THEIR OATHS AND PROMISES. 25

uncertain whether there is any thing of importance
in hand at the time of swearing, and how can he
escape the disapproval of God, since the inspired
Paul declares that the doubtful eater of meat is
damned? (Rom. xiv : 23.)

4. We have already adverted to the fact that con
cealment is resorted to in order to take advantage
of "a weakness in human nature," and to recom
mend things which, if known generally, would be
disregarded. Is it right to use the name and oath
of God for the accomplishment of such purposes ?
Is it right to use the name and oath of God in
order to take advantage of ua weakness in human
nature," and to invest with fictitious charms things
which, if seen in the clear light of day, would be
regarded with indifference or contempt? The tak
ing of oaths for such purposes, and under such cir
cumstances, will generally be avoided by those who
give good heed to the command, " Thou shalt not
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for
the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh
his name in vain."

5. While we do not claim that there is any pas
sage of Scripture which expressly declares the ini
tiatory oaths under consideration to be profane and
sinful, at the same time there are many passages
which require us to beware how and when we swear :

26 SECRET SOCIETIES.

" But above all things, my brethren, sivear not, neither
by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other
oath • but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay,
lest ye fall into condemnation" (James v : 12.) Does
not this command condemn those who swear to
keep secret they know not what, and to fulfill ob
ligations which devolve upon them as members of
an association, before they know fully what that as
sociation is, or what those obligations are? Should
not every one consider himself admonished not to
swear such an oath lest he fall into condemnation?
Again: Our Savior says, " Swear not at all; neither
by heaven, for it is God's throne ; nor by the earth,
for it is his footstool ; neither by Jerusalem, for it
is the city of the great king. Neither shalt thou
swear by thy head, because thou canst not make
one hair white or black ; but let your communica
tion be yea, yea, nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more
than these, cometh of evil." These words were
spoken in condemnation of those who employed
oaths frequently and on improper occasions. They
should make every one hesitate in regard to swear
ing, in any form, on his initiation into an order the
obligations and operations of which have not yet
been revealed to him. Once more : " Be not rash
with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter
any thing before God, for God is in heaven and thou

THEIR OATHS AND PROMISES. 27

upon earth; therefore, let thy words be few." (Eccl.
v : 2.) Is it not a rash thing to bind one's self by
the oath of God to keep secret things as yet un
known, or to bind one's self to conform to unknown
regulations and usages ? In view of these declara
tions of the Word of God, it certainly would be
well to avoid taking such oaths as generally are
required of the members of secret associations at
their initiation.

6. The promise required of candidates at their in
itiation, whether there be an oath or not, is also, at
least in many cases, improper and sinful. For in
stance, the " candidate for the mysteries of Ma
sonry," previous to initiation, must make the declar
ation that he " will cheerfully conform to all the
ancient established usages and customs of the fra
ternity." (Webb's Freemason's Monitor, p. 34.)
Grosch, in his Odd-fellows' Manual, directs the
candidate at his initiation as follows : " Give your
self passively to your guides, to lead you whither
soever they will." (P. 91.) Again, in regard to
initiation into a certain degree, he says : " The can
didate for this degree should be firm and decided
in his answers to all questions asked him, and pa
tient in all required of him," etc. (P. 279.) In
the form of application for membership, as laid
down by Grosch, the applicant promises as follows :

28 SECRET SOCIETIES.

" If admitted, I promise obedience to tlie usages
and laws of the Order and of the Lodge." (P. 378.)
These declarations, by reliable authors, plainly
show that both in Masonry and Odd-fellowship
obligations are laid on members of which, at the
time, they are ignorant. Candidates for Masonry
must promise to conform, yes, " cheerfully conform
to all the ancient established usages and customs
of the fraternity." The application for member
ship in the association of Odd-fellows must be ac
companied by a promise of obedience to the usages
and laws both of the whole Order and of the lodge
in which membership is sought. No man has a
right to make such a promise until he has carefully
examined the usages, and customs, and laws referred
to. While he is ignorant of them, he does not know
but some of them or all of them may be morally
wrong. Before the candidate has been initiated, he
has not had an opportunity of acquainting himself
with all the laws, usages, and customs which he
promises to obey. Is not such a promise con
demned by the divine injunction, " Be not rash
with thy mouth?" Is not the man who promises
to obey regulations, customs, and usages before he
knows fully what they are as blameworthy as the
doubtful eater of meats, who, the inspired apostle
tells us, is damned for doing what he is not confi-

THEIR OATHS AND PROMISES. 29

dent is right? The candidate for initiation into
Odd-fellowship must " give himself passively to
his guides." Such demands indicate the spirit
which secret associations require of their members.
They must surrender the exercise of their own
judgment, and permit themselves to be blindly led
by others. No man has a right thus to surrender
himself passively to the guidance of others. Every
man is bound to act according to his own judgment
and conscience. Before a man promises to obey
any human regulations, or to conform to any usage
or custom, he is bound to know what that regula
tion, usage, or custom is, and to see that it is mor
ally right. To do otherwise is to sin against con
science and the law of God.

7. Besides this, the promise to " preserve mys
teries inviolate," made before they have been made
known to the promiser, is condemned by sound
morality. He may have heard the declaration of
others that there is nothing wrong in " the mys
teries," but this is not sufficient to justify him. A
man is bound to exercise his own reason and con
science in regard to all questions of morality.

No man has a right, at any time, to lay aside
his reason and conscience and allow himself to be
" guided passively" by others. Every man is.
bound to see and decide for himself in every case

30 SECRET SOCIETIES.

of duty and morals. We should not let the church
of Christ even decide for us iu such matters, much
less some association, composed, it may be, of infi
dels, Mormons, Jews. Mohammedans, and all sorts
of men except atheists. (See pages 37, 31.) A
band of such men may have secrets very immoral
in character, and which it would be a violation of
God's law to preserve inviolate. To promise before
hand that any " mysteries" which they may see fit
to enact and practice shall be forever concealed, is
to trifle with conscience and morality. It is use
less to plead that a member can withdraw as soon
as he discovers any thing wrong in the regulations
and usages which he is required to obey. Every
one who joins such an association as those under
consideration must make up his mind to do so be
fore he knows what " the mysteries " are, and he
must promise (either with or without an oath) that
he will preserve them inviolate before " the breth
ren " will intrust them to him. The possibility of
dissolving his connection with the association after
ward does not exonerate him of promising to do
he knows not what — of laying aside his own con
science and reason, and yielding himself " pas
sively " to others. The promise of secrecy and of
obedience to unknown regulations and customs,
required at the initiation of candidates into such

THEIR OATHS AND PROMISES. 31

associations as we are considering, is, therefore,
a step in the dark. It involves the assuming of
an obligation to do what may be morally wrong,
and is, therefore, inconsistent with the teachings
of the Word of God and the principles of sound
morality,

32 SECRET SOCIETIES.

CHAPTER IV.

THEIR PROFANENESS.

1. ANOTHER evil connected with secrecy, as
maintained by the associations the character of
which is now under consideration, is the profane
use of sacred things in ceremonies, celebrations,
and processions. This evil has, perhaps, no neces
sary connection with secrecy, but has generally in
fact. The "secret societies" of antiquity dealt
largely in religious ceremonies. It is the frequent
boast of Masons, Odd-fellows, and others, that
their associations correspond to those of ancient
times. There is, indeed, a correspondence between
them in the use of religious rites. Those of an
cient times employed the rites of heathenish super
stition ; those of modern times are, perhaps, as
objectionable on account of their prostituting the
religion of Christ. The holy Bible, the word of
the living God, is used by Masons as a mere em
blem, like the square and compass. The pot of in
cense, the holy tabernacle, the ark of the covenant,
the holy miter, and the holy breastplate are also

THEIR PROFANENESS. 33

employed as emblems, along with the lambskin and
the sword pointing to a naked heart. At the open
ing of lodges and during initiations, passages of
Scripture are read as a mere ceremony, or as a
charge to the members in regard to their duty as
Masons. Thus a perverse use of holy Scripture is
made in the application of it to matters to which
it has no reference whatever. (Freemason's Mon
itor, pp. 92, 19-181). Even the great Jehovah is
represented in some of their ceremonies by symbols.
His all-seeing eye is represented by the image of a
human eye. (Freemason's Monitor, pp, 85, 290.)
Masonry also profanes the name and titles of God.
God alone is to be worshiped ; he alone should be
addressed as the Most Worshipful Being. But Ma
sonry requires the use of such language as follows :
"The Most Worshipful Grand Master," and "The
Most Worshipful Grand Lodge." God alone is
Almighty, but Masons have their " Thrice Illus
trious and Grand Puissant," and their u Thrice Po
tent Grand Master." God alone is perfect, but
Masons have a " Grand Lodge of Perfection " and a
" Grand Elect Perfect and Sublime Mason." (Mon
itor, pp. 187, 219 ; Monitor of Free and Accepted
Eite, pp. 52.) Christ is the great High Priest, and
Aaron and his successors were his representatives,
but Masons have a " High Priest," a " Grand High
3

34 SECRET SOCIETIES.

Priest," yea, a "Most Excellent Grand High Priest."
At the installation of this so-called High Priest,
various passages of Scripture treating of the priest
hood of Melchisedec and of Christ are used.
(Webb's Monitor, pp. 178-181, 187.)

We regard these high-sounding titles as ridicu
lous, and as well calculated to excite derision and
scorn ; but we do not now treat of them in that
regard. We call attention, at present, to the em
blems and titles used by Masons as profane. God
did not intend his holy Word, and the Tabernacle,
and the Ark of the Covenant, and the Breastplate,
to be used as the symbols of Masonry. These and
other holy things were intended only for holy pur
poses. To use them as the Masons do is to per
vert and profane them. The visible representation
of the all-seeing eye of God is certainly a species
of idolatry, and is forbidden by the second com
mandment. Such, also, are the triangles, declared
to be "a beautiful emblem of the eternal Jehovah."
(Monitor, p. 290.) The Israelites, of course, did
not understand that the Divine Being was really
like their golden calf; they considered it a symbol
of Deity. How much better is it to assimilate
God to a triangle than to a calf? The difference is
just this: the latter idea is more gross than the
former. The sin of idolatry — that is, of representing

THEIR PROFANENESS. 35

God under a visible figure — is involved in both cases.
The profaneness of the titles mentioned above must
at once be evident to every reverent, considerate
mind. They are such as in the Bible are ascribed
only to God and to Christ. Indeed, Masons give
more exalted titles to their sham priest than the
^Scriptures employ to describe the character and
office of the great High Priest who is "made
higher than the heavens." If this is not profane,
we are at a loss to know what can be profane*

2. The Odd-fellows in profanation of holy
things go about as far as the Masons. They em
ploy "the brazen serpent," "the budded rod of
Aaron," "the Ark of the Covenant," "the breast
plate for the high priest," and other holy things
as emblems of their order, along with "the shining
sun," " the half moon," etc. They have their " Most
Worthy Grand Master," and their "Most Excellent
Grand High Priest," and other officers designated
by titles which should be given to God and Christ
alone. Indeed, as it respects emblems and titles,
Masonry seems to be the example which other se
cret associations have followed. In regard to the
profanation of holy things, the difference, between
most of the secret associations in our land is one
merely of degree. This profanation of the word,
name, and titles of God is certainly sinful in itself,

36 SECRET SOCIETIES.

and very injurious in its effects.* What kind of
ideas of God, and Christ, and heaven must persons
have who conceive and think of God under the
figure of three triangles ; of Christ and his priest
hood as symbolized by "the Most Excellent Grand
High Priest," officiating amid the tomfooleries of
Masonry and Odd-fellowship ; and of heaven as a
Grand Lodge -room. What ideas of the Divine
Majesty and Glory must they have who are accus
tomed to give to the officers of a secret association,
and to men who are, perhaps, destitute of faith
and holiness, and who may be Jews, Turks, or infi
dels, as grand titles as the Scriptures give to the
God of heaven and the Savior of the world. Be
sides it is very improper and sinful to give to
mere men the titles and glory which are due to
God alone. We learn that it was precisely for
this sin that the Divine displeasure was visited upon
king Herod. On a certain occasion, having put on
his royal apparel, he sat on his throne and made a
public oration. The people who heard him shouted
and said, "It is the voice of a God and not of a
man; and immediately the angel of the Lord smote
him, because he gave not God the glory ; and he was
eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost" (Acts xii:
23.) It was for the same spirit of self-glorification
that the king of Babylon was punished with mad-

THEIR PROFANENESS.

ness and disgrace. Nebuchadnezzar walked in his
palace, and said : "Is not this great Babylon, which
I have built for the house of my kingdom by the
might of my power, and for the honor of my maj
esty?" The same hour he was driven from men,
and did eat grass as oxen ; and his body was wet
with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown
like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds7
claws. (Dan. iv: 30-33.)

2. Another objectionable feature of many secret
societies is, that they profane the worship of God.
They claim (at least those which seem to embrace
the most numerous membership) to be, in some
sense, religious associations. They maintain forms
of worship; their rituals contain prayers to be
used at initiations, installations, funerals, consecra
tions, etc. They receive into membership, as we
shall afterward see, almost all sorts of men except
atheists. Being composed of Jews, Turks, Mo
hammedans, Mormons, and infidels, as well as of
believers in Christianity, they endeavor to estab
lish such forms as will be acceptable to their mon
grel and motley membership. Hence their prayers
and other forms of worship are such as may be
consistently used by the irreligious and by in
fidels, and only by them. We do not say that no
Christian prayers are offered up in Masonic lodges.

38 SECRET SOCIETIES.

No doubt some godly men, as chaplains, offer up
extempore prayers in the name of Christ; but
such prayers are not Masonic. They are not au
thorized by the Masonic ritual; they are contrary
to the spirit if not to the express regulations of
Masonry. Any member would have a right to ob
ject to them, and his objections would have to be
sustained. The only prayers which Masonry does
authorize, and can consistently authorize, are Christ-
less — infidel prayers and services. The proof of
this declaration can be found in every Masonic
manual. (See Webb's Monitor, pp. 36, 80, 189,
and Carson's Monitor, of the Ancient and Accepted
Kite, pp. 47, 61, 95, 99.) In all the prayers thus
presented, the name of Christ is excluded; it is
excluded even from the prayers to be offered at
the installation of the "Most Excellent Grand
High Priest." (Webb's Mon., pp. 183, 189.) The
idea of human guilt is, also, almost entirely ex
cluded from these prayers; the idea of pardon
through the atonement of Christ is never once
presented in them. In the prayer to be used at
the funeral of a " Past Master," it is declared that
admission unto God's "everlasting kingdom is the
just reward of a pious and virtuous life." Every
true Christian, on reflection, must see that such
prayers are an insult to the Almighty. They are

THEIR PROFANENESS. 39

just such as infidels and all objectors of Christ
may offer.

The prayers of the society of Odd-fellows are
equally objectionable. In respect to the character of
their religious services, they are to be classed with
the Masons. Odd-fellowship knows no God but
the god of the infidel; it recognizes the Creator
of the Universe and the Father of men, but not
the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The name of Christ has no more a place in the re
ligion of Odd-fellowship, according to its principles
and regulations, than in a heathen temple or an
infidel club-room. It is quite likely that some
times chaplains, officiating in the lodge-room, pray
in the name of Christ; but a Turk, according to
the principles and regulations of Odd-fellowship,
would have just as much right to pray in the
name of Mohammed, or a Mormon in the name of
Joe Smith. These are facts which, we presume,
all acquainted with the forms and ceremonies in
use among Odd-fellows will admit. Grjoseh, in his
Manual, makes the following declaration: "The
descendants of Abraham, the divers followers of
Jesus, the Pariahs of the stricter sects, here gather
round the same altar as one family, manifesting no
differences of creed or worship; and discord and
contention are forgotten in works of humanity and

40 SECRET SOCIETIES.

peace." (Pp. 285, 286.) This declaration has ref
erence, of course, to all the members of the asso
ciations — believers in Christianity, Jews, Moham
medans, Indians, Hindoos, and infidels. How do
they manage to worship so lovingly together in the
lodge-room? Our author asserts that they "leave
their prejudices at the door." Of course their
forms of worship embody no " prejudices." The
thing is managed in this way : Whatever is peculiar
to Judaism is excluded from the ritual and worship
of Odd-fellows ; whatever is peculiar to Hindooism is
excluded ; whatever is peculiar to Mohammedanism
is excluded ; whatever is peculiar to Christianity is
excluded ; whatever is peculiar to any form of re
ligion is excluded. Only so much as is held in
common by Jews, Hindoos, Mohammedans, and
Christians is allowed a place in the ritual and wor
ship of Odd-fellows. But how much is held in
common by these various classes? After every
thing peculiar to each class has been thrown over
board, how much is left? Nothing but deism or
infidelity. The only views held in common by
the Jew, Mohammedan, Christian, and others are
just those held by infidels. The religion of Odd-
fellowship is infidelity, and its prayers are infidel
prayers.

Not only such are the prayers and religion of

THEIR PROFANENESS. 41

Masonry and Odd-fellowship, but such must be the
religion and prayers of all associations organized
on their principles. The only way to welcome all
of every creed, Jew, Mohammedan, Hindoo, etc.,
and make them feel at home in an association, is to
exclude every thing offensive to the conscience or
prejudices of any one of them. And when every
thing of that sort has been excluded, the residuum,
in every case, as every one must see, will be deism
or infidelity. This is a serious matter. Christians
are not free from guilt in countenancing such
prayers and services. The tendency of such relig
ious performances must be very injurious. Who
ever adopts the religious, or rather irreligious, spirit
and principles of Masonry, Odd-fellowship, and other
similar associations must discard Christianity and
the Bible. No doubt there are some, perhaps there
are many Christians in connection with such asso
ciations, but they certainly do not and can not ap
prove the Christless prayers of the lodge-room,
much less join in them. Is it right for the disci
ples of Jesus, or even for believers in Christianity,
as the great majority of people in this country are,
to sustain any association which puts Christianity
on a level with pagan superstition, which treats
Jesus Christ with no more regard and venera
tion than it does Mohammed, Confucius, or Joe

42 SECRET SOCIETIES.

Smith, and whose only religion is the religion of
infidels ?

If secret associations did not pretend to have any
religion or any religious services, but would, like bank
and railroad companies, conduct their affairs without
religious forms, it would be infinitely better.

THEIR EXCLUS1VENESS. 43

CHAPTER Y.

THEIR EXCLUSIVENESS.

1. ANOTHER objection which may be urged
against secret societies in general, is their selfish
exclusiveness.

It is well known that the Christian religion has
often been subjected to reproach by the bigotry
and sectarianism of its professors. If the Bible
^ inculcated bigotry and sectarianism, it would be a
well-founded objection to Christianity itself; but
Christianity is eminently catholic and democratic,
and is diametrically opposed to an exclusive and
partisan spirit. The command of Christ to his
church is to make no distinction on account of
class or condition, but to receive all, and especially
to care for the poor, the unfortunate, the oppressed,
the blind, the lame, the maimed, and the diseased.
Sometimes men calling themselves Christians act so
directly contrary to the impartial, catholic spirit
and teachings of Christ as to render themselves
unworthy of all sympathy and encouragement ; but
the exclusiveness of secret societies is, we think,

44 SECRET SOCIETIES.

unparalleled in our day for its selfishness and
meanness. They claim to be charitable and benev
olent institutions; they assert that membership in
them confers great honors and advantages ; they
profess (at least many of them) to act on the prin
ciple of the universal brotherhood of men and
fatherhood of God. (Moore's Con. of Freema
sonry, p. 125; Webb's Monitor, pp. 21, 51; Pro
ceedings of Odd-fellows' Grand Lodge of United
States, 1859, App., p. 6.) We say nothing now
about the falsity of these claims and professions;
but we assert that, even admitting the boasted hon
ors and advantages enjoyed by members of secret
associations, such associations are eminently exclu
sive and selfish. Of this proposition there is
abundant proof.

2. The Masons utterly refuse to admit as mem
bers women, slaves, persons not free-born, and
persons having any maim, defect, or imperfection
in their bodies ; or, at least, the principles of Ma
sonry forbid the admission of all such persons.
(Masonic Constitutions, published by authority of
the Grand Lodge of Ohio, Art. 3 and 4.) Moore,
editor of the Masonic Review, in his Ancient
Charges and Regulations of Freemasonry, in com
menting on the articles above referred to, makes
the following declarations: "The rituals and cere-

THEIR EXCLUSIVENESS. 45

monies of the order forbid the presence of women;"
and a the law proclaiming her exclusion is as un-
repealable as that of the Medes and Persians." (P.
145.) Again : " Masonry requires candidates for
its honors to have been free by birth ; no taint of
slavery or dishonor must rest upon their origin."
(P. 143.) Once more this author remarks : " A
candidate for Masonry must be physically perfect.
As under the Jewish economy no person who was
maimed or defective in his physical organism,
though of the tribe of Aaron, could enter upon the
office of a priest, nor a physically defective animal
be offered in sacrifice, so no man who is not c per
fect ' in his bodily organization can legally be made
a Mason. We have occasionally met with men
having but one arm or one leg, who in that condi
tion had been made Masons ; and on one or two
occasions we have found those who were totally
blind who had been admitted ! This is so entirely
illegal, so utterly at variance with a law which
every Mason is bound to obey, that it seems almost
incredible, yet it is true." (P. 152.) It is, hence,
seen that Masonry is very exclusive. No woman
can be a member. This regulation excludes at
once one half of mankind from its boasted advan
tages. The oppressed slave is excluded ; the man
born in slavery, though now free, is excluded ; the

46 SECRET SOCIETIES.

lame man is excluded ; the man who has lost an
eye is excluded; the man who has lost a hand is
excluded ; the man who has lost a foot is excluded ;
the man on whose birth any taint of dishonor rests
is excluded ; the man who is imperfect in body is
excluded. No matter how good, patriotic, and wise
such persons are, still they are excluded ; no mat
ter how needy such persons are, still they are ex
cluded ; no matter though a man have lost a hand,
or foot, or eye in defense of his country and lib
erty, still he is excluded ; no matter though a
freedman, exhibiting bravery, and piety, and every
virtue, still the " taint of slavery rests on his
birth," he is excluded. Widows and orphans are
excluded.

" If a brother should be a rebel against the state,
the loyal brotherhood can not expel him from the
lodge, and his relation to it remains indefeasible."
(Moore's Constitutions, Art. 2.) A Mason may be
engaged in a wicked rebellion, and may stain his
soul and hands with innocent blood, and still he
must be recognized as " a brother," and must con
tinue to enjoy all the boasted rights and advantages
of the order ; but the patriot soldier who has
been disabled for life in defense of his country
and liberty is excluded. The widows and orphans
of rebel Masons slain in battle, or righteously exe-

THEIR EXCLUSIVENESS. 47

cuted on the scaffold, must receive " the benefits;"
but the widows and orphans of patriot soldiers who
did not choose to join the Masons, or were excluded
by some bodily imperfection, or by wounds received
in battle, are left to the charities of " the ignorant
and prejudiced." The Jew, the Turk, the Hin
doo, the American savage, and the infidel (provided
they are not atheists), are eligible to the boasted
honors and advantages of Masonry. (Moore's Con
stitutions, pp. 119, 123.) But if a man have every
intellectual gift and every moral virtue, and have
some bodily imperfection, he is excluded. A man
may be as gifted and as learned as Milton, as incor
ruptible and patriotic as Washington, and as benevo
lent as Howard, but if he is physically imperfect he
is excluded from this association, which claims to be
no respecter of persons, but to be the patron of
merit, and which professes to act on the principle
of the universal brotherhood of men.

3. Exclusiveness in about the same degree char
acterizes other secret societies. The Constitution
of the Odd-fellows' Grand Lodge of Ohio provides
that the candidate for membership must be " a free
white person possessed of some known means of
support and free from all infirmity or disease."
(Art. 6, Sec. 1.) Substantially the same qualifica
tions for membership are required by the constitu-

48 SECRET SOCIETIES.

tions and laws of other secret associations. (Con
stitution of Ancient Order of Good-fellows, Art. 6,
Sec. 1 ; Constitution of Improved Order of Red
Men, Art. 5, Sec. 1 ; Constitution of United Ancient
Order of Druids, Art. 8, Sec. 1.)

4. Not only are these associations exclusive and
selfish in regard to receiving members ; not only do
they utterly refuse to admit a man, however good,
and wise, and patriotic he may be, in case he is
diseased or infirm, or is disabled by wounds in the
service of his country, and is too poor and feeble
to maintain himself and his family ; not only do
they exclude all such persons from membership
and from the boasted privileges, and honors, and
pecuniary benefits pertaining thereto, but also their
regulations in regard to their internal affairs man
ifest an unchristian, anti-republican, exclusive, self
ish spirit. For instance, Masons will not, and,
indeed, according to thair regulations, can not, be
stow funeral honors upon deceased members who
had not advanced to the third degree. Those of
the first and second degree can not thus be hon
ored. They are not entitled to funeral obsequies,
nor are they allowed to attend a Masonic funeral
procession. (Webb's Monitor, pp. 132-133.)

Again : Though Masonry makes professions of
universal benevolence on the ground " that the ra-

THEIR EXCLUSIVENESS.

diant arch of Masonry spans the whole habitable
globe;" though it declares that every true and wor
thy brother of the order, no matter what be his
language, country, religion, creed, opinions, politics,
or condition, is a legitimate object for the exercise
of benevolence, (Masonic Constitutions, by Grand
Lodge of Ohio, p. 80); still it is declared that
" Master Masons only ftre entitled to Masonic
burial or relief from the charity fund." (Masonic
Constitutions by Grand Lodge of Ohio, p. 39.)
The rulers of Masons can not be chosen from the
members of the first or second degree. It is thus
seen that the first two degrees serve as a sort of
substratum on which the other degrees rest, and
the "honors and benefits" are not intended for
persons of the former.

The exclusiveness and selfishness of other secret
associations are also apparent from their regula
tions. As shown above, they exclude all diseased
and infirm persons from membership, and of course
from all the " benefits." They generally provide
that, in case of sickness or disability, a member
shall receive three dollars per week, and in case of
the death of a member, the sum of thirty dollars
shall be contributed toward defraying his funeral
expenses. But all the associations making such
regulations also provide that a member who is in
4

50 SECRET SOCIETIES.

" arrears for dues " shall receive no aid in case of
sickness or disability ; and in case of the death of a
member who is " in arrears for dues" nothing shall
be contributed to defray his funeral expenses, and
his wife and children, however destitute they may
be, can receive no aid. In such cases, the destitute
widow and orphans must not look to " the charita
ble association " of which the departed husband
and father was a member, but to outsiders — yes, to
" prejudiced and ignorant" outsiders — for aid to
bury his dead body with decency. Grosch says,
" The philosopher's stone is found by the Odd
fellow in three words, Pay in advance. There are
few old members of the order who can not relate
some case of peculiar hardship caused by non
payment of dues. Some good but careless brother,
who neglected this small item of duty until he was
suddenly called out of this life, was found to be
not beneficial, and his widow and orphans, when
most in need, were left destitute of all legal claims
on the funds he had for years been aiding to accu-
*mulate." (Monitor, p. 198, 199.) Such facts as
these prove secret associations to be exclusive,
heartless, selfish concerns. (See Constitution of
Druids, Art. 2, Sec. 1, and By-laws, Art. 11, Sec. 1 ;
Constitution of Good-fellows, Art. 16, Sec. 1 ; Con
stitution of Amer. Prot. Asso., Art. 9, Sec. 1-5.)

FALSE CLAIMS. 51

CHAPTER VI.

FALSE CLAIMS.

1. ANOTHER very serious objection to secret so
cieties is that they set up false claims. No doubt
a secret association may exist without doing so, but
the setting up of false claims is the legitimate re
sult and the usual accompaniment of secrecy. The
object of secrecy is deception. When a man en
deavors to conceal his business affairs, it is with
the design of taking advantage of the ignorance of
others. Napoleon once remarked, " The secret of
majesty is mystery." This keen observer knew
that the false claims of royalty would become con
temptible but for the deception which kings and
queens practice on mankind. We have quoted above
from a book, the reliability of which will not be
called in question, to show that the design of se
crecy, on the part of Masons, is to take advantage
of "a weakness in human nature," and to invest
with a charm things which, if generally known,
" would sink into disregard." So, also, " the aid of
the mysterious" is resorted to by Odd-fellows to

52 SECRET SOCIETIES.

render their "meetings attractive," and to "stim
ulate applications for membership." (Proceedings of
Grand Lodge, 1859, App., p. 10.) It will scarcely
be disputed that such is the design of the conceal
ment practiced by secret associations in general. It
is thus shown that secrecy is the result of an un
willingness to rely upon real merit and the sober
judgment of mankind for success, and of a desire,
on the part of associations practicing it, to pass for
what they are not. Hence, the design of secrecy
involves hypocrisy, or something very much like it.
2. But, whatever may be the design of secrecy,
secret associations do set up false claims. They
all, or almost all, claim to be charitable institu
tions. This is the frequent boast of Masons and
Odd-fellows. Moore, in his " Constitutions," de
clares that " charity and hospitality are the distin
guishing characteristics " of Masonry. (P. 71.)
In the charge to a " Master Mason," at his initia
tion, it is declared that " Masonic charity is as
broad as the mantle of heaven and co-extensive
with the boundaries of the world." (Masonic Con
stitutions, published by the Grand Lodge of Ohio,
p. 80.) " The Right Worthy Grand Representa
tive," Boylston, in his oration delivered in New
York, April 26, 1859, declared that Odd-fellowship
is " most generally known and commended by its

p.rt

FALSE CLAIMS. 53

charities." (Proceedings of Grand Lodge, 1859,
App., p. 6.) Such is the style in which secret
associations glorify themselves. Such boasting,
however, is not good. It is contrary to the com
mand of our Savior : " Therefore, when thou doest
thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as
the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may have glory of men." The
boasting of secret associations about their charities
is precisely what our Savior not only forbids, but
also declares to be characteristic of hypocrites.
And such boasting is, indeed, generally vain. When
a man boasts of any thing, whether of his wealth,
pedigree, bravery, wisdom, or honesty, there is
good reason to suspect that his claims are not well
founded. Hence, the very boasting of secret asso
ciations about their benevolence and charities is
presumptive evidence that their claims to the rep
utation of being charitable institutions are hypo
critical and false.

3. Iii the first place. " the benefits " are confined
to their own members. The excuse for secrecy, in
some instances, is that it is necessary in order that
aid may not be obtained by persons who are not mem
bers. Li the " charge " delivered to a Master Mason
at his initiation, he is enjoined to exercise benev
olence toward " every true and worthy brother of

54 SECRET SOCIETIES.

the Order." In Boylston's address which we have
already quoted from several times, " the well-earned
glory of Odd-fellows" is declared to consist in this :
that " no worthy Odd-fellow has ever sought aid
and been refused." (Proceedings of Grand Lodge,
1859, App., p. 9.) It is provided in the Constitu
tion of Odd-fellows, Grood-fellows, etc., that aid
shall be given to members under certain circum
stances ; but it will be in vain to search in them
for any regulation providing for relief to any but
members and their families. The provision found
in the constitution or by-laws of almost every se
cret association that members "in arrears for dues "
shall not be entitled to ''benefits," plainly shows
that their vaunted "charity" is restricted to their
own members. Tiis would not be 30 bad were it
not for the fact that they carefully exclude from
membership all who need aid or are likely to need
aid. The Masons, according to their Constitutions,
must not receive as a member any man who is not
" physically perfect." Thv constitutions of other
secret orders exclude all who arc diseased or infirm
in body, or who have no means of support. They
exclude the blind, the lame, the maimed, the dis
eased, the destitute, the widow and the orphan, and
all who are wretchedly poor or can not support
themselves, and they cut off all such persons, to-

FALSE CLAIMS. 55

gether with their own members who " are in ar
rears," from the " benefits." Yet they talk about the
universal brotherhood of men, and claim for them
selves the possession of universal benevolence !

4. Still further : The relief afforded to members
is not to be regarded as a charity. The amount
granted in all cases is the same. The constitutions
of mosf secret associations that give aid to mem
bers provide that three dollars a week shall be
given in case of sickness, and thirty dollars in case
of death. The amount given does not correspond
to the condition of the recipient. The rich and
the poor fare alike. The member ;i in arrears " is not
entitled to any aid. It is only the worthy brother
who is entitled to aid, and in order to be a worthy
brother a member must punctually pay his " dues."
Hence, the amount bestowed in case of the sick
ness or death of a member is to be regarded as a
debt. The "Druids," in their Constitution, ex
pressly declare that the aid given to sick members
is not to be regarded in any other light than as
the payment of a debt. " All money paid by the
grove for the relief of sick members shall not be
considered as charity, but as the just due of the
sick." (Art. 2, Sec. 7.) Boylston, in his oration,
though boasting of the " charities " of Odd-fellow
ship, declares that they do not wound or insult the

56 SECRET SOCIETIES.

pride of the receiver, for the reason " that the re
lief extended is not of grace, but of right." (Pro
ceedings of Grand Lodge, 1859, Appendix, p. 6.)
Grosch, in his Odd-fellows' Manual, in justifying
equality in dues and in benefits, says : " He who
did not pay an equivalent would feel degraded at
receiving benefits — would feel that they were not
his just due, but alms." (P. 66.) It is, hence, seen
that the aid bestowed by secret societies is no more
a gift of charity than the dividends of a bank or of
a railroad company. The stockholders are entitled
to their share of the profits ; so members of secret
societies are entitled to a certain share of the funds
to which they have contributed. We say nothing
for or against the propriety of this arrangement, in
itself considered. Persons have, perhaps, a right
to form themselves into a mutual insurance com
pany, to bargain with one another that they will
aid each other in case of sickness or want ; that in
case of the death of any of the members, their fam
ilies shall be provided for by the surviving mem
bers ; that only the members who continue to pay
into the common fund a certain sum monthly or
quarterly shall receive such aid ; that no money
shall be paid out of the common fund for the ben
efit of any who are not members, or of their fam
ilies ; and that all diseased and infirm persons, and

FALSE CLAIMS. 57

very poor people, such as "have no visible means
of support," and are likely to need pecuniary aid,
shall be excluded from the company and from its
benefits. Perhaps men have a right to form them
selves into an association with such regulations ;
perhaps they have a right to leave u an unworthy
brother" (a member who fails to pay his " quarterly
dues") and his family to the charities of " ignorant
and prejudiced " people who will not join secret so
cieties ; and in case of the death of such a member,
to leave his poor heart-broken widow to beg of the
same " ignorant and prejudiced " outsiders enough
of money to bury his dead body decently ; Lut they
have no right to call themselves a charitable associa
tion. It is probable that many Masons, Odd-fellows,
Good-fellows, etc., are kind to " unworthy breth
ren," and to the poor in general ; but if so, they
are better than the associations of which they are
members. Bankers and money-brokers, no doubt,
sometimes show kindness to the poor, but it does
not hence follow that banks and money-shaving
establishments are charitable institutions. Neither
does it follow that secret societies are charitable
because their members, in case of sickness or death,
are entitled to a certain portion of the funds which
they themselves have contributed as initiation fees
and quarterly dues, while those who are in real

58 SECRET SOCIETIES.

want can not even become members. What charity
is there in persons pledging themselves to aid each
other in sickness or other misfortune, and .to let
widows and orphans, the lame and the diseased,
and the wretchedly poor, perish with hunger and
cold ? It may not be improper for A, B, and C to
promise that they will take care of each other in
•sickness, and that in case of the death of one of
them his dead body shall be buried by the sur
vivors. It may, also, not be improper for a man
to get his life or his property insured. Insurance
companies have done much good. Many a man has
been saved from pecuniary ruin by getting his
property insured, and many a man has secured a
competence for his wife and children by getting his
life insured. Individuals and families have prob
ably been oftener saved from worldly ruin by in
surance companies than by secret societies. The
association of A, B, and C may do some good.
They have a right to agree to aid one another.
They may, perhaps, have a right to say that D, E,
and F, who are very poor, or are enfeebled by dis
ease, shall not join them, and shall not be aided
by them ; but they have no right to represent their
exclusive, selfish association as a charitable one.
Such a representation would be false, and the wick
edness of making it wholly inexcusable. We do

FALSE CLAIMS.

59

not blame Odd-fellows, Good-fellows, Druids, or any
other association for acting as mutual insurance
companies. We do not blame them for agreeing
that they will take care of each other or of each
other's families. We are not now blaming them
for excluding from their associations and from " the
benefits " disbursed by them, the blind, the lame,
the diseased, and the very poor who have no means
of support, though this feature of such associations
does seem very repulsive. We are not now con
demning them for casting off all those who do not
pay their " dues," those who become very poor and
can not as well as the rich who will not, and for
cutting off all such persons from all " benefits of
whatsoever kind," though such treatment does seem
to us selfish, cruel, and mean ; we do not now ar
raign them for any of these things, however un
generous, exclusive, and selfish they appear to us,
but we do say that any association which thus
practices, and professes, and calls itself a charitable
one is a cheat and a sham. Those secret societies
which glorify themselves on account of their char
ities and universal brotherhood and benevolence,
can be acquitted of willful deceit and falsehood
only on the ground that they are blinded by preju
dice or ignorance, or both.

The pretentious character of secret associations

60 SECRET SOCIETIES.

appears, also, in their claims to be the possessors
and disseminators of knowledge and morality. Their
members seem to think a man can scarcely be good
and intelligent without being "initiated." "Webb
delares " Masonry is a progressive science. * * Ma
sonry includes within its circle almost every branch
of polite learning." (Monitor, p. 53.) 'Masonry is
not only the most ancient, but the most moral institu
tion that ever subsisted." (Monitor, p. 39.) Grrosch,
in his Manual, speaking of the shining sun as an
emblem, says: "So Odd-fellowship is dispersing the
mists from the advancing member's mind, and re
vealing things as they are; so, also, it is enlighten
ing the world," etc. (Manual, p. 120.) The ex
travagance and absurdity of these claims must be
evident to every prejudicial mind. It may be said,
indeed, the above declarations express the opinions
only of individuals, and that associations can not
justly be charged with the errors of their mem
bers. We maintain, however, that secret societies
are responsible for the vain boasting of their mem
bers. They claim that their members are a chosen
board, a select few, who, by virtue of their associa
tion, are superior to the rest of mankind. Their pro
cessions and parades, their regalia and emblems, and
their high-sounding titles are evidently designed to
impress the minds of their own members and of out-

FALSE CLAIMS. 61

siders with ideas of their excellence and grandeur.
Their high-sounding titles have already been ad
verted to as involving the sin of profaneness ; but
they serve equally well to illustrate the pretentious
character of the associations which employ them.
Almost every officer among the Masons has some
great title. There is the Grand Tyler, Grand Stew
ard, Grand'Treasurer, Grand Secretary, Grand Chap
lain, and Grand Master. The Lodge itself is grand,
and, of course, every thing and every body connected
with it are grand. The treasurer, though his duty
be merely to count and hold a little vile trash called
money, is grand; almost every officer is a grand
man.

These titles, however, do not give an adequate
idea of the grandeur to which "sublime" Ma
sonry ascends. They have their Eight Worship
ful Deputy Grand Master, their Right Worshipful
Grand Treaurer, Most Worshipful Grand Master,
Most Eminent Grand Commander, Thrice Illus
trious Grand Puissant, Most Excellent Grand High
Priest, etc. (Consstitution of Grand Lodge of Ohio,
Art. 5., Webb's Monitor, pp. 187, 219, 284.) Other
associations employ similar titles; indeed, Masonry,
as the oldest association, seems to have been copied
after by the rest. The Odd-fellows have almost
the same parades, shows, and titles as the Masons,

62 SECRET SOCIETIES.

They have their aprons, ribbons, rosettes, and
drawn swords; and they endeavor, by these and
other clap-trap means, to recommend their associa
tion as a grand affair. They, too, have their Right
Worthy Grand Lodge, Most Worthy Grand Master,
Right Worthy Grand Secretary, Right Worthy
Grand Treasurer, Right Worthy Grand Chap
lain, etc.

We think it strange that men of sense should
employ such titles. They would be ridiculous even
applied to the greatest and best man that ever
lived. They are more ridiculous than the bombas
tic titles given to civil officers in barbarous coun
tries. The Sublime Porte of Turkey is outdone in
this respect by secret associations in the United
States.

6. The absurdity of these high-sounding titles
and other puerilities is further seen from the char
acter of those who compose the associations which
employ them. They boast that they receive as
members almost all sorts of men except atheists;
that men of every religious sect and every nation
meet in their lodges as loving brethren, and on a
perfect equality; that they welcome the Jew, the
Arab, the Chinaman, the American savage, the in
fidel, and the Christian, provided they be sound in
body and be able to support themselves ; yet the

FALSE CLAIMS. 63

officers elected by the lodges or squads of such
persons, Jews, Arabs, Chinamen, savages, infidels
and Christians, become Most Eminent Grand Com
manders, Thrice Illustrious Puissants, etc. Yea,
since brotherhood and equality characterize these
associations, the Jew, the Arab, the Chinaman, and
the infidel are eligible to any office, and may be
come Most Worshipful Grand Commanders and
Most Excellent Grand High Priests.

All this is calculated to produce laughter and con
tempt; but such is not the design. The design of
those who make use of these grand titles and other
clap-trap things is to recommend their associations
as an excellent and grand affair. The design itself,
and the means employed for its accomplishment,
must, certainly, be condemned by every unpreju
diced Christain mind.

CONCLUSION.

WE have thus briefly stated the objectionable
features of what are generally called secret so
cieties. It is mainly to their secrecy, oaths, and
promises, their profanation of holy things, their ex-
clusiveness and their setting up of false claims, to
which we object. These are the things objected to
in the foregoing treatise. We have written with
out any feeling of unkindness, and we trust, also,

64 SECRET SOCIETIES.

without prejudice. We had intended to urge ad
ditional considerations to show the evil nature and
tendency of secret societies; but we have been re
strained by the fear of swelling our treatise beyond
a proper size.

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SEOEET
SOCIETIES ?

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SECRET
SOCIETIES?

" WITH charity for all and with malice toward
none," we bring this question to all those who
would serve Christ. We mean by " secret socie
ties" not literary, scientific, or college associations,
which merely use privacy as a screen against intru
sion, but those affiliated and centralized " orders "
spreading over the land, professing mysteries, prac
ticing secret rites, binding by oaths, admitting by
signs and pass-words, solemnly pledging their mem
bers to mutual protection, and commonly con
structed in " degrees," each higher one imposing
fresh fees, oaths, and obligations, and swearing the
initiated to secrecy even from lower " degrees " in
the same Order.

Shall Christians join societies of this kind?

SUPPOSING IT TO BE INNOCENT, WILL IT PAY ?

First. They consume time and money. Have
you considered how much? How many evenings,
and whole nights, and parts of days ? How many

(67)

68 SECRET SOCIETIES.

dollars in fees, dues, fines, expenses, and diminished
proceeds from broken days? Will it pay? Can
you not lay out this amount of time and money
more profitably? — a plain man's question. They
propose helping you to " friends," "business," in
"moral reform," in "sickness, death, and bereave
ment; " but can you not get as much of such good
in ways pointed out to you by Christ, your best
and wisest friend? — ways which will yield you
more of personal cultivation, spiritual good, earthly
profit, social and domestic happiness, and openings
for usefulness. If so, these orders are unprofit
able, and will not pay.

Secondly. They furnish inferior security for in
vestments. As mutual insurance societies, they are
irresponsible, and more liable to corruption, just
because they are secret. Do they make " reports "
to the public or the Legislature? Do they make
any adequate "report" to the mass even of their
own members ? Millions and millions are known to
have gone into the treasury of a single one of
these organizations. No dividends are declared, no
expenditures published. Where is the money ?
Were it not safer to invest the same amount in
companies where every proceeding is open to public
eye and public judgment? Would you not, then, be
safer ? If so, it will not pay to join these orders.

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SECRET SOCIETIES? 69

IS IT OBLIGATORY ?

First. Charity has no need of them. They are
not truly charitable institutions. "Mutual insur
ance societies " they may be, though of an inferior
sort, as we have seen ; but that does not elevate
them into charitable institutions. To bestow on
your widow and orphans, your sickness, and funeral
some pittance, or the whole of what you paid dur
ing health and life, is not benevolence.

But, further, it is well to ask, in determining how
greatly charity depends on them, how broadly they
go forth among the poor outside their membership.
During the anti-masonic excitement of 1826-1830
some two thousand lodges suspended. The result
ant suffering was less, perhaps, than what would fol
low the suspension of a single soup association, any
winter, in some city. Blot out the whole, and how
small the injury to the charities of the country !

The Church of Christ is commanded to " do good
unto all men" — "to remember the poor." It is
engaged in this work. It blows no trumpet — it
does not parade its charities ; but it shrinks from
comparison with no one of these orders, nor with
all of them combined. Christians need not to go
into them to preserve charity alive, or to find the
best ways of exercising their own.

Secondly. Morality does not depend on them.

70 SECRET SOCIETIES.

We need say nothing of " what is done of them in
secret." But, looking at what is open to all, we
ask, What work are they doing worthy of so much
organization, and expense, and time to reclaim the
fallen, to banish vice, and to save its victim ? We
have heard them refusing him admission or cutting
him off, but we have not heard of any consider
able aid which they have given to public or private
morality. And, further, do we not find them nar
rowing the circle of obligation, substituting attach
ment and duty to an order for love and obligations
to mankind ? Membership in a lodge, not character,
is held to make one " worthy," opening the way to
favor and society. But can all this be done with
out sensibly weakening the fundamental supports of
morality, without lessening its broad requirements ?
Thirdly. Patriotism has no need of them. They
tend to destroy citizenship, to exalt love of an order
above the love of country. The boast during the
late rebellion was sometimes heard that their mem
bers, owing to the oaths of mutual protection, were
safer among the rebels than other captives. Was
the converse true ? Were rebels, being Freemasons,
safe or safer against restraint and due punishment
when falling captive to those of their order ? How
far does all this extend ? To courts and suits at law?
Are criminals as safe or safer before judge and

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SECRET SOCIETIES? 71

jury of their order ? Have rebellion and vice found
greater security here ? This boast is confession —
confession that the ties of an order are stronger and
more felt than is consistent with a proper love of
country. Is justice thus to be imperiled? Are se
curities of property and rights thus to be imperiled?
Must we beggar ourselves by paying fees and dues
to one another of these orders, now becoming more
plentiful every decade, to make sure of standing on
equal footing and impartiality with others, in the
courts and elsewhere, and imagine that all this is
helpful to patriotism or even consistent with it ?

Fourthly. Religion has no need of them. " The
church is the pillar and ground of the truth."
" The gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
The preaching of Christ and him crucified is and
must continue to be the wisdom of God and the
power of Grod unto salvation. Religion, then, has
no need of these secret orders.

We come now to this : Neither charity, morality,
patriotism, nor religion imposes obligations on us
to join them. It will not pay was our first fact.
We have now reached this other, that no considera
tion of duty requires it. But,

IS IT RIGHT?

First. Christ, our Master, neither instituted nor
countenanced these orders.

72 SECRET SOCIETIES.

Heviewing his whole earthly ministry, he said
(John xviii:.20): "I spake openly to the world;"
and "in secret have I said nothing." By this
double affirmation he strongly suggested his prefer
ence for open, unsecret ways and proceedings.

Secondly. In those rites, proceedings, and regalia
which do appear, these orders are frivolous, belit
tling, and unworthy of respect. If the revealed
are such, what must the unrevealed be ?

Thirdly. These orders stand convicted of deceit
and falsehood. They profess secrets and mysteries
worth buying. Hundreds of high-minded men, of
irreproachable character and integrity, who have,
therefore, " renounced these hidden things of dis
honesty," testify over their own signatures, that
their secrets are but signs, pass-words, ceremonies,
etc., covering nothing but emptiness and vanity.

Fourthly. These orders are unfriendly to domestic
happiness and well-being, breaking in upon the sacred
confidence and unity of husband and wife, pledging
him to conceal from her thu proceedings of perhaps
fifty nights yearly, thus often sowing seeds of dis
trust, filling his breast with what must not be di
vulged to her, involving him in affairs and habits
not unfrequently injurious to the best interests and
state of the family.

Fifthly. These orders are hostile to the heavenly-

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SECRET SOCIETIES? 73

mindedness, the spirituality of those who join them.
We speak from much testimony. " Let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed." The prudent man
foreseeth the evil, but the foolish pass on and are
punished. This voice of one is that of many con
curring wise, faithful, and godly men, viz.: "I am
afraid of these secret societies ; they have sucked
the spirituality out of all the members in our church
who have joined them." Young, promising Chris
tians have often been blighted by them. The fer
vor of piety, interest in the church and its work,
interest in Christ and his people, interest in God's
Word and Spirit, all the various elements of an
earnest life of faith and heavenly-niindedness have
been blighted in these lodges. And in urging this,
we appeal to so many witnesses, and cover so wide a
field of observation, as to make it certain that this
is not the exceptional but the ordinary result.

Sixthly. These orders tend to destroy Christian
fellowship. Let them grow until a given church is
broken into squads, each pledged to secrets from
the other, but bound within itself by special ties ;
give to each its own weekly meeting, mysteries,
rites, signs, grips, pass-words ; let each be sworn to
provide for, protect, shield, and love its own adher
ents above others, and is not " church fellowship "
annihilated? Can the Spirit of Christ flow freely

74 SECRET SOCIETIES.

from member to member through such partitions?
Is this " one body in Christ, and every one mem
bers one of another?"

Seventhly. These orders tend to subject the church
to "the world" in some of its dearest interests. For
example : When a few leading members join a
neighboring lodge, and make vows to the "strange"
brotherhood, how easy for that lodge to interfere
secretly but controllingly in its discipline of mem
bers, or in its selection or dismission of a pastor !
These suggestions are not merely imaginary. Sub
jection of the church, in this way, to the cunning
craftiness of evil and designing men is no mere dream.

Eighthly. These orders dishonor Christ. Those
claims which he makes for himself are disallowed.
He is required to disappear or find a place amidst
other objects for worship. There is a necessity, be
cause these orders are designed for adherents of all
religions. Were they on the footing of an insur
ance company or a merchants' exchange, or any
similar body, this fact would not be so. But they
profess to include religion among their elements,
and its services, in whole or in part, among their
ceremonies. They have prayers and solemn relig
ious rites. And in these Christ is dishonored. His
exclusive claims are disallowed or ignored, and this
not by accident, but of set purpose. Out of twenty-

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SECRET SOCIETIES? 75

three forms of prayer in the " New Masonic Trestle-
Board," (Boston edition, 1850,) only one even al
ludes to him, and that one in a non-committal way.
These secret orders are under bonds not to honor
Christ as he claims, lest the Jew, or the Deist, or
the Mohammedan, all of whom they seek to enroll
in equal membership, should be offended. When
the higher " degrees " of Masonry allude to Christ
and Christianity, it is but as one amidst many
equals. We repeat it : Did these orders stand on the
same footing with mercantile or other bodies in this
matter, this objection might go for nothing; but
they do not. Unlike them, they profess to have
religious services. Indeed, they often boast of their
religiousness, and avow their full equality in this
with the church of God itself! Yet, if you join
them, their " constitutions " prohibit you acknowl
edging, in their boasted religious services, what
Christ, your Lord, not only claims for himself, but
commands you to give unto him : that glory which
is due to his holy name. Are they, then, not Anti
christ, in this thing ? And can you, without sin,
consent to it, or uphold institutions which forbid
you and others, in religious services, to honor him
as your God and Savior, and which thus place him
on the same level with Zoroaster, Confucius, or
Mohammed ?

76 SECRET SOCIETIES.

Ninthly. These orders — the things now alleged be
ing true — impede the cause and kingdom of God, and
are, therefore, hostile to the largest, best, and deepest
interests of mankind. Recognizing this, churches,
conferences, associations, - synods, and many emi
nently godly men, living and dead, have put forth
their solemn testimony against them. Great law
yers, like Samuel Dexter; great patriots and states
men, like Adams, and Webster, and Everett ; great
communities, like the American people from 1826
to 1830, have united to declare them not only
" wrong in their very principles," but "noxious to
mankind." But many Christians, rising higher and
standing on " a more sure word of prophecy," have
discovered in them the enemies of the Gospel and
of the cross of Christ. Following him, their great
exemplar in philanthropy as in godliness, who did
nothing in secret, they refuse to have fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, choosing
rather to reprove them.

Shall Christians join secret societies?

Will it pay? Are they under obligation to do
so? Fellow-disciple, brother man, have you doubt
on these questions ? If it will not pay ; if you are
under no obligation to do it ; if you have any
doubt of its rightfulness, it is most assuredly your
duty to refuse any connection with them.

SHALL CHRISTIANS JOIN SECRET SOCIETIES? 77

We have no wish to press our reasoning beyond
just limits. We have sought to avoid extreme
statements. We now ask you whether, in the light
of what has been brought to view, the weight of
argument is not against your joining these orders
and lending them aid ? Even should you be able to
stand up against their tendency to lower your per
sonal piety and injure your Christian character, have
we not here one of those cases where many broth
ers are offended or made weak? The Lord Jesus
has said, " Whoso offends one of these little [or
weak] ones, it were better for him that a mill-stone
were hanged about his neck and he were drowned
in the depths of the sea." Will you, then, how
ever safe yourself, be the means, by your example,
of bringing weaker brethren into such dangers?
" We, then, that are strong ought to bear the bur
dens of the weak, and not please ourselves." " It
is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor
to do any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth or is
offended [caused to sin] or is made weak." These
words are not ours ; they are Grod's.

Christian disciple, decide this question of secret
societies with candor, with solemn prayer, and with
a purpose to please God.

A PAPER ADOPTED BY

THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF

ILLINOIS.

SECRET SOCIETIES.

A PAPER ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS OF THE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES, AT THEIR MEETING IN OTTAWA, 1866.

THE topics committed to us involve the follow
ing points :

1. The moral character of secrecy. Is it an ele
ment of an invariable moral character? and, if so,
what ? and, if not, what are the decisive criteria of
its character?

2. Associations or combinations involving secrecy.
Are they of necessity right or wrong ? If not, what
are the decisive criteria?

3. Religious rites and worship in societies or
organizations, open or secret. Are any kind allow
able? and, if so, what?

I. Secrecy. Its character.

A presumption against secrecy arises from the

known fact that evil-doers of all kinds resort to

secrecy. This is for two reasons : (1.) To avoid

opposition and retribution ; and, (2,) to avoid ex-

6 (81)

82 SECRET SOCIETIES.

posure to disgrace. The adulterer seeks secrecy ;
so do the thief and the counterfeiter ; so do con
spirators for evil ends.

Secrecy, whenever resorted to for evil ends, is
wrong. But may it not be resorted to for good
ends? and is it not recognized as often wise and
right in the Word of God? We answer in the
affirmative. There is a certain degree of reserve,
or secrecy, that should invest every individual.
Our whole range of thought and feeling ought not
to be promiscuously made known. There is a 'de
gree of secrecy necessary in the order, social inter
course, and discipline of the family. There is se
crecy needed in dealing with faults and sins. Christ
adopts this principle in his discipline. He says,
" Tell him his fault between him and thee alone.
If he repents, conceal it." There are confidential
communications for important ends, or for council.

Concealment may be used as a defense against
enemies, as in the case of the spies of Joshua, or
the messengers of David, or when Elisha hid him
self by the brook Oherith, by God's order. So God
hides the good in his secret place and under his
wings.

Secrecy is opposed to ostentation and love of hu
man applause. Hence, alms and prayer are to be
in secret. God also resorts to secrecy in an emi-

SECRET SOCIETIES. 83

nent degree. He hides himself. He dwells in
thick darkness. It is his glory to conceal his de
signs. In part, this is inevitable by reason of his
greatness ; in part, he resorts to it of set purpose.

It is a special honor and blessing of the good
that he discloses his secrets to them.

Secrecy, then, is not of necessity wrong. Its
character depends upon the ends for which it is
used, and the circumstances and spirit in which it
is used. There is a secrecy of wisdom, love, and
justice, as well as a secrecy of selfish, malevolent,
and evil deeds.

II. Secret societies.

Of these there may be two degrees.

1. Where not only the proceedings of the society
are secret, but even the existence of such a society
is concealed.

2. Where the existence is avowed, and the signs
and proceedings only are secret.

In associations, secrecy may be resorted to in
both these ways for evil ends. Men may combine
in associated societies to prey on the community,
and the existence of such societies be hidden.
Counterfeiters, horse-thieves, burglars, may thus
associate for wrong, in the deepest secrecy.

So, too, secret associations whose existence is
avowed may combine for selfish ends, and in dero-

84 SECRET SOCIETIES.

gation of the common rights of the social system.
They may defend their members, to the injury of
justice, in our courts. They may interfere with
the management of churches and societies. They
may bring an influence of intimidation to bear on
public men. They may disseminate false principles
of religion and morals. They may co-operate for
political ends, and to effect revolutions.

And yet it is no less true that, in certain circum
stances, secret societies of both kinds may be re
sorted to for good ends.

Secret societies may be rightfully resorted to for
common council and united action, in the fear of
God and with prayer, in a very dangerous state of
the body politic, to resist incumbent evils, and the
existence of such societies not be disclosed, if the
state of the case would thus give them greater
power for good. So, as a defense against known
disloyal secret organizations, secret loyal leagues
were rightfully resorted to as a means of united
and concentrated action against organized disloy
alty. And if, in resisting moral evils, secrecy gives
power and advantage in devising measures to resist
vice and crime, it is not sinful to resort to it.

All boards of trust generally have secret sessions,
and legislative bodies resort to secret sessions right
fully, if the state of affairs demands it.

SECRET SOCIETIES. 85

It will be seen that secrecy is justified and de
manded by peculiar circumstances or obvious ends
to be gained. The reason of the case, therefore, is
against secrecy, and in favor of open action, where
no such justification can be made out. It is the
nature of truth and right to be open. All things
tend to it. There is nothing covered or concealed
that shall not finally be proclaimed.

On the other hand, if secrecy is resorted to with
out reason ; if it is made the basis of false pre
tences ; if it assumes the existence of something
that is not, then it is not defensible. If it involves
a profession of information to be communicated, and
influences for good to be exerted, that do not exist,
then it is a species of intellectual swindling which
admits of no defense. The sciences and arts, the
Bible and nature, are open to all. So is the book
of history. What new science, or art, or history, or
religion is there for secret societies to disclose?

III. Religious rites or worship in societies, open
or secret — are any allowable? and, if so, what?

In order to answer this question, we need to con
sider certain fundamental and vital principles of
Christianity.

1» All men, as depraved and guilty, need regen
eration and pardon through the intervention of
Christ.

SECRET SOCIETIES.

2. There is access to the true God only through
Christ : "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but through me."

3. " Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath
not the Father ; but he that acknowledgeth the Son
hath the Father also."

All Christian churches are based on these truths,
and the center and culmination of their worship is
this recognition of Christ in the Sacrament as the
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the
world. Christ, too, is the center of the worship
of heaven.

Hence, if Christians associate with others in wor
ship, it can rightly be only on the ground that the
worship centers in Christ, and acknowledges him as
Lord, to the glory of the Father.

Hence, if, for the sake of extending an organization,
men are admitted of all religions — Pagans, Moham
medans, Deists, Jews — and if, for the sake of accom
modating them with a common ground of union,
Christ is ignored, and the God of nature or of crea
tion is professedly worshiped, and morality incul
cated solely on natural grounds, then such worship
is not accepted by the real God and Father of the uni
verse, for he looks on it as involving the rejection
and dishonor, nay, the renewed crucifixion of his
Son. As to Christ, he tolerates no neutrality. He

SECRET SOCIETIES. 87

who is not for him is against him. These princi
ples do not involve the question of secrecy. They
hold true of all societies, open or secret.

If, on such anti-Christian grounds, prayers are
framed, rites established, and chaplains appointed,
ignoring Christ and his intercession, God regards it
as a mockery and an insult to himself and his
church. In it is revealed the hatred of Satan to
Christ. By it Christ is dethroned and Satan ex
alted.

These principles do not exclude worship and
prayer from societies. In any societies, true wor
ship in the name of Christ will be accepted.

Let us now apply these principles to the societies
of Free Masonry, the modern mother of secret so
cieties. Concerning these we hold it to be plain :

That they have neither science nor art to impart
as a reward of membership. The time was when
there was a society, or societies, of working masons,
coming down from the old Roman empire, and ex
tending through the middle ages. These were socie
ties of great power, and wrought great works. The
cathedrals of the middle ages were each erected by
such a corporation, and attest their skill and energy.

But these corporations of working masons have
passed away, and Masonry is now, even in profes
sion, only theoretical, and in fact, so far as this art

88 SECRET SOCIETIES.

is concerned, is not even this. It does not teach
the theory of architecture. The transition took
place in 1717, after a period of decline in the
lodges of working masons. All pretences to a his
tory back of this, or to any connection with Solo
mon or Hiram, are mere false pretences and delu
sion for effect. No art is taught and no science is
communicated by the system.

Practical ends, then, alone remain; and, in fact,
the founders of the system avowed " brotherly love,
relief, and truth " as these ends. The cultivation
of social intercourse is also avowed as an end by
defenders of the system. But such ends as these
furnish no good reasons for secrecy ; nor is secrecy
favorable to a wise and economical use of the in
come of such bodies for purposes of benevolence.
An open and public acknowledgment of receipts
and expenditures is needed as a safeguard against
a dishonest and wasteful expenditure of funds.

Nor is this all. The secrecy of the order, taken
in connection with the principle of hierarchal con
centration, and with the administration of extra-
judicial oaths of obedience and secrecy, renders it,
as a system, liable to great abuses in the perver
sion of justice, in the overriding of national law,
and the claims of patriotism.

But the most serious yiew of the case lies in the

SECRET SOCIETIES. 89

fact that it professes to rest on a religious basis,
and to have religious temples, yet is avowedly based
on a platform that ignores Christ and Christianity
as supreme and essential to true allegiance to the
real God of the universe. Its worship, therefore,
taken as a system, is in rivalry to and in derogation
of Christ and Christianity.

And, as a matter of fact, this and similar systems
are by many regarded as a substitute for the church,
or as superior to it. Moreover, devotion to them
absorbs time and interest due to the church, and
paralyzes Christians by association with worldly
men, and by the malignant power of the spirit of
the world.

This system, and those who imitate its hierarchal
and centralizing organization, also give power to
those hierarchal principles and systems against
which Congregationalism has ever protested as cor
rupting and enslaving the church.

The system also cultivates a love of swelling
titles, and of gaudy decorations and display in
dress, that are hostile to the genius of our Consti
tution, and to true republican and Christian dignity
and simplicity.

From this system other organizations have bor
rowed much, and some do not essentially differ
from it in practical working.

90 SECRET SOCIETIES.

Other organizations, however, for the ends of
temperance reform, have adopted modes of organ
ization, display in dress, and secret signs for the
purposes of recognition and defense. The ends and
proceedings of these temperance societies are so
well known that it is often denied that they are
secret societies ; yet they do, avowedly for pur
poses of defense, resort to secrecy, and have imi
tated modes of dress and organization found in
Masonry. And members of Masonic lodges declare
that they involve, in fact, all the principles of
Masonic organizations, and rely on them ultimately
leading to their own order.

While we recognize the true devotion of the
members of these societies to the cause of temper
ance, and acknowledge and commend their active
efforts to resist the progress of one of the greatest
evils of the age, we yet can not concede the wisdom
or desirableness of a resort to principles and modes
of action which tend to create a current toward
other secret organizations not aiming at £jieir ends,
nor actuated by their spirit of temperance reform.

In conclusion, we respectfully present the Asso
ciation the following principles foradoption:

Resolved, 1. That in dealing with secret organ
izations, this Association recognizes the need of a

SECRET SOCIETIES. 91

careful statement of principles and a wise discrim
ination of things that differ.

2. That there are some legitimate concealments
of an organized character — such as the privacies of
the family and business firms, the temporary con-
concealment of public negotiations at critical stages,
the occasional withdrawal of scandals which could
only disturb and demoralize communities, and the
secrecy of military combinations; nor are we pre
pared totally to condemn all private plans and
arrangements between good and true citizens, in
great emergencies, to resist the machinations of the
wicked.

3. That organizations whose whole object and
general method are well understood, and are known
to be laudable and moral — such as associations for
purely literary or reformatory purposes — are not to
be sweepingly condemned by reason of a thin veil
of secrecy covering their precise methods of pro
cedure ; yet we deem that outer veil of secrecy to
be unwise and undesirable, inasmuch as it holds out
needless temptations to deeds of darkness, and gives
unnecessary countenance to other and unlawful com
binations ; and, whenever the act of membership
involves an unconditional oath or promise of sub
mission, adhesion, and concealment, under all cir-
cumstnces, that compact is a grave moral wrong.

92 SECRET SOCIETIES.

4. That there are certain other wide-spread or
ganizations — such as Freemasonry — which, we sup
pose, are in their nature hostile to good citizenship
and true religion, because they exact initiatory
oaths of blind compliance and concealment incom
patible with the claims of equal justice toward man
and a good conscience toward Grod ; because they
may easily, and sometimes have actually, become
combinations against the due process of law and gov
ernment; because, while claiming a religious char
acter, they, in their rituals, deliberately withhold
all recognition of Christ as their only Savior, and
of Christianity as the only true religion ; because,
while they are, in fact, nothing but restricted part
nerships or companies for mutual insurance and
protection, they ostentatiously parade this charac
terless engagement as a substitute for brotherly love
and true benevolence ; because they bring good men
in confidential relations to bad men; and because,
while in theory, they supplant the church of Christ,
they do also, in fact, largely tend to withdraw the
sympathy and active zeal of professing Christians
from their respective churches. Against all con
nections with such associations we earnestly advise
the members of our churches, and exhort them,
" Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbe
lievers."

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